No. 10 Kentucky men’s basketball suffered an overtime loss against the Florida Gators by a score of 94-91 inside Rupp Arena on Wednesday.
Despite strong offensive showings by multiple Cats, UK was shorthanded with starters D.J. Wagner and Justin Edwards ruled out before the contest.
The Wildcats entered the matchup on the back of a hard-fought 63-57 win at Bud Walton Arena against Arkansas, a much-needed bounce-back win after the Cats were handily defeated by the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road prior.
The win at Arkansas also saw Antonio Reeves surpass 2,000 career points, with the veteran being honored before starting lineups for the feat.
Looking to defend home court, the Cats brought out a starting lineup of Adou Thiero, Reeves, Reed Sheppard, Tre Mitchell and Ugonna Onyenso. The aforementioned news of Edwards and Wagners’ absence put a damper on the return of spark plug Rob Dillingham, who missed the Cats’ game at Arkansas with illness.
Kentucky started off strong despite the absences but it was clear it wouldn’t be able to ease past the Gators with both teams standing tied at 14 with under 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
The first half continued to be a back-and-forth battle until Kentucky was able to rattle off a 7-0 scoring run to take a six-point lead, the largest of the night up to that point.
The Cats would even lead by double digits in the first half, but at the break it would be five points that separated the Cats and Gators with Sheppard leading all scorers with 11 points.
The Gators rallied to start the second half with a 6-0 run, but Kentucky woke up, retaking the lead with under 16 minutes to play.
Both teams continued the offensive onslaughts with Kentucky reaching the 70 points mark with over eight minutes remaining on the clock.
The pair continued trading blows with Onyenso reaching a double-double with just over five minutes to play, but Florida was able to tie the game with over three minutes left to play.
Despite the Cats boasting a two score lead with under 30 seconds, Florida was able to nail a 3-pointer after getting a basket to force overtime, sending the Cats into their third overtime game of the year and second at home.
In overtime Kentucky continued to fight but was unable to overcome the Gators, suffering its second overtime loss of the season in conference play.
Kentucky will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 3, back inside Rupp Arena against the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers. Tip-off against the Vols is slated for 8:30 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN.
